1. Field
The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to handheld electronic devices and, more particularly, to a keypad of a handheld electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples of such handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Many handheld electronic devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such handheld electronic devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other devices.
As is generally understood in the relevant art, users of handheld electronic devices typically are able to direct at most only a limited amount of attention toward operation of a handheld electronic device since the user oftentimes is involved in other activities, hence the portable nature of handheld electronic devices. As such, any improvement which reduces the extent to which a user must direct attention to a handheld electronic device in order to operate the device is beneficial. Keypads of handheld electronic devices oftentimes are operable only if a user directs a substantial amount of attention to the keypad. It thus would be desired to provide an improved keypad and handheld electronic device wherein the keypad is operable with a reduced amount of direct attention, i.e., visual attention, by a user.
Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification.